Volume I. Chapter VI. - Loss

[March 29th, 1215]

My body is already shivering from stress when it’s sent into a state of shock once more due to the sight of Himari. The smug-looking Demon seems to grin only in my presence. It slightly wiggles her relaxed body before sticking its tongue out, revealing a shiny object - It’s a root stone, it stole Himari’s!

A root stone is what makes using abilities possible. It’s the core of a gift itself hidden without our bodies. But it also happens to be the very thing Demons are after as consuming it gives their power a boost. The power depends on how much the core’s vessel refined it through honing its skills. Losing it means losing your gift altogether.

This thing… it’s taunting me. I notice Hidiku’s consciousness revert back to this cruel world when he grabs the cloth covering me and tightens his grip.

“You can still save her… please…”

Suffering from fatigue, she struggles to speak his voice thin as a strand of hair. I look at the girl again - it’s faint but visible. I can see her muscles moving as she intakes air into her lungs. Can I really save her? - I begin to doubt myself and by doing so I only give the monster more time to mess with my head.

Equipped with nails sharp as blades, the Demon begins to bury them beneath its victim’s facial skin. A single heartbeat reverberates within my body, a beat louder than any of the previous. Anger sprouts deep within my heart and spreads all the way to my mind. As a result, I lose control of my emotions, and without thinking I use all of the strength I have left.

Another sharp gust of wind, generated by my own kinetic energy, hits the ruined arena. I’ve crash-landed on my starting point and with Himari in my arms we continue rolling a bit further down the street. All I can feel is the pain of bruises and wounds covering my body, caused by my inability to control my own gift. Thankfully I’ve gotten my friend out of the enemy’s clutches. Now we just need to find help-

My words are immediately swallowed as I lower my gaze to check Himari’s condition. However, before I’m even able to process her state, an unpleasant feeling swirls within my stomach as its contents are being forced out. Her face is gone. Completely ripped off, exposing her bloodied-up muscle tissue and yellowish fat. I can’t recognize my friend anymore.

The urge is unstoppable and I once again throw up. Did I do this? Is this my fault? Blame towards myself fills up my shaken-up mind.

“I’m so sorry, Himari.”

I silently say just before I begin to weep tears and slowly progress to crying out loud. I can no longer even look at her face without becoming ill. The feelings of regret and sorrow overwhelm me. I feel disheartened and powerless once more. In the end, I couldn't do anything to save her. My mourning is soon interrupted by the movement I sense behind me.

I sneak a glance at the demon. It's approaching me while chewing on Himari's remains, I can see some of her skin poking through its powerful-looking jaws. All I can do is stare it down with fear.

What should I do? I can’t run away. I can’t even feel my legs. My ability has rendered them useless. But… I don’t want to die. The demon eventually appears above me, and as Himari's blood drips from its stiff jaw, I gaze at its awful grin, knowing it's the last thing I will ever see. I close my eyes as all hope escapes my list of possibilities.

I catch the sound of a rock hitting the ground before me. I open my eyes and see the demon above me turning its focus away. Moments later, a rock strikes it and drops to the ground, creating the same noise I heard just earlier.

"YUUNA! RUN!"

A voice beckons me, and I turn to face the direction where the sound is coming from. It's Charlotte. She's desperately throwing rocks at it, but there’s no point. I can’t use my legs. I don’t even have enough strength to tell here anymore.

"What are you doing, Yuuna? Get away from it, NOW!"

She’s still trying to distract it. I guess she doesn’t realize that It's already over. There is nothing we can do. Though, I'm grateful that in my last moments, my big sister is trying to save me. I wish I could stay with my sisters a little bit longer.

The monster puts its fist into motion and I can see my life flash before my eyes, yet there’s no impact. Not even any kind of physical contact I could feel. For whatever reason the finishing blow hasn’t been delivered. Instead, the beast's arm is severed in two.

As if nothing had ever happened, the demon calmly straightens up and an arm materializes from its bloody wound. The rapidity of the beast's regeneration abilities astounds me. But what I want to know is why its arm suddenly fell off. Did Charlotte do that? My mind becomes puzzled to the extent that I fail to notice the footsteps coming from behind me.

"Are you alright?"

It's a boy whose voice I don't recognize. I swiftly direct my attention to him. He appears to be approximately Lena's age dressed in black. His short, spikey black hair is concealed behind the general cap he is wearing. His crimson eyes lock onto mine as his dark cloak sways in the light breeze.

He looks just a little bit taller than me. He also has a weapon strapped to his hip. Could he be the one who has wounded the demon? The mysterious person offers me a hand to help me get up and I take it with gratitude. Is he a soldier? His military uniform differs from everyone else's. Who is he?

"Was she someone close?"

He calmly asks me as he views Himari lying on the ground. I confirm with a nod.

"You have my condolences."

The boy takes notice of the demon looking our way. It became angered. With each step the beast makes, its movement speed increases until it finally transitions into a full sprint. We find ourselves within the demon’s range when it waves one of its arms at us, and as the force hits the ground, a small layer of dust gets lifted into the air, ending up covering us whole.

It's only a matter of seconds before we swiftly emerge from the cloud with my arm in the boy’s grasp. He pulled me further back together with Himari’s body, to where Charlotte is standing, ensuring a better chance of my safety. It all happens so fast. Before I get to say a single word, my savior is gone within the blink of an eye as I observe him beginning the assault.

“Yuuna, who… is that?

I look at my older sister, standing above me with an expression showing strictly the feeling of terror. She’s glancing at the lifeless body lying on the ground next to me.

“It awfully resembles…”

Charlotte knows exactly who it is, her face is proof of that. But the cruelty of this truth makes her hesitant to ask. Seeing her in this state only makes my urge to cry stronger.

“It’s Himari.”

Shifting my gaze away from her while tilting my head downwards, I hide my face, and then give her the unwanted answer. I tried to avoid eye contact, yet I still witnessed her kneel before me in disbelief. It feels like in too big of a shock to shed tears.

My thoughts are rapidly interrupted by a sudden loud bang made from within the ongoing showdown.

It’s a battle to the death. The young soldier is driven back as the angered demon swings its two rock-hard-looking arms. Every attempt at a blow is either evaded or deflected by the boy’s sword. Though the beast's fury is fraying, its strikes are still well-aimed. …Until one of its missed whips gets mocked by the boy.

His arrogant look and protruding tongue make the monster furious. Although it may appear clever, it is certainly not on a human level. At its core, it’s still just a beast. The demon swings its fist at the youngster, this time with considerably greater force and range, but it’s uncontrolled and driven purely by anger. It’s a mistake the soldier takes full advantage of.

One step to the left. The demon waves to the boy’s right side, the boy leans forward and spins in the same direction as the single step he made, slicing across its abdomen in the process, but he isn’t done just yet. Due to the monster's wide attack, its side is now fully open, and under its ribcage, another scar develops.

The demon won’t give in and attempts to defend itself, but the young soldier has already taken command. All of the demon's strikes, although launched one after another, are successfully blocked within an instant. The fight is heating up, it’s getting more intense with each second. I can hardly keep up with them as I see the soldier leaping and whirling all around the beast.

“We need to help the others. Let’s make use of this opportunity and find them while he’s distracting the demon.”

Charlotte is back on her feet and she looks determined, but I’m still shaken up after everything that has happened. Did she get over it already? No… her hands are shaking, her cheeks are still bright red beneath all the dirt. She’s forcing herself into this. My sister is right, we need to secure them while we can.

“I’ve left Hidiku over on the other side. He should be safe there, but I haven’t seen Enmei. He could be in danger.”

I rise up to match my older sister’s spirit to at least some extent.

“Alright. In that case, let’s go look for him first.”

And with that, we move out. During the ongoing fight, the soldier is doing a good job keeping the beast in one place, making it easier for us to circle around. After some time of searching through destroyed paths and crumbled buildings, we finally managed to spot our friend.

Enmei is lying beneath a wall, covered in its contents. Most likely the remains of someone’s home. He’s unconscious. Charlotte quickly crouches down in front of him and places one ear next to Enmei's lips.

“He’s breathing!”

That’s a relief. I don’t know if I could take losing another friend. Slowly and carefully, we begin to remove the debris. After lifting one of the stone bricks, I find a bloody bruise on one of his thighs.

“There’s a chance his leg might be fractured.”

Charlotte informs me. Can we move her like this? I’m worried. We become troubled trying to find a way to help Enmei. I don’t know how to check if it’s broken and I don’t want to worsen it either.

“If only Himari was here.”

My sister murmurs, most likely without thinking. I don't expect it and so my eyes once again tear up without a chance of stopping. Realizing her words aren't helping the situation, she swiftly directs her attention toward me and embraces me in her arms.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

I shake my head in denial. I understand where she’s coming from. Despite her strength-enhancing powers, Himari was also gifted with healing anyone except for herself. But that’s not possible anymore. I glance over at my older sister sitting once she lets go of me and spot a rock heading straight for us from above.

“Get down!”

I yell out as I cover my sister’s body with my own.